I believe you are talking about the Northern Ring snake.
gabonica is a snake with a horn and is black and yellow
If the stripes are light in color, maybe even off white it could be a CA king snake.
The Speckled King snake is a black snake with yellow or orange spots speckled over it's body. Another black snake with yellow spots would be Baby Eastern Black King Snake. Both are completely black with yellow speckles.
"Red touching black is a friend of Jack, red touching yellow can kill a fellow." This refers to the red, black and yellow rings around the coral snake. If the yellow and red rings are touching, you have a coral snake. If the red and black rings are touching, you probably have one of 25 subspecies of the king snakes.
What kinda of snake is Black with yellow bell
A Coral snake. It has bands of red, yellow and black around its body.
The yellow-bellied sea snake has black on the top. It has a yellow belly. It also has black dots.
Assuming you meant 'Coral' snake - there are a few rhymes around to help you remember how to distinguish one from a banded king snake... Red touches yellow, kill a fellow - Red touches black, venom lack - is one example. With a king snake, the bands are in the order Red-black-yellow-black (this repeats along the length of the body) - while in coral snakes the order is red-yellow-black yellow
That picture is of a prairie ringkneck snake. Goto google and search ringkneck snake.
The phrase is "Red touches yellow - kill a fellow. Red touches black - venom lack." The coral snake's bands are arranged in the order red, yellow, black, yellow. The king snake's coloured bands are in the order red, black, yellow, black.
Based on your description, the snake you are referring to is likely the Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). This species is known for its tan body, black head, and thin yellow band around its head, making it easily recognizable.
Coral snakes are relatively small snakes. They are tri-colors - yellow, red and black. The coral snake distinguishes itself from copycats, such as the king snake, by the coloration of the stripes. If the yellow stripes touch the red stripes the snake is a coral snake.